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European Federation (Ascension)
After the conclusion of the Contact War, Paris was the first city to be rebuilt, and thus became the most populous, sightly bigger than Rome. |official_languages = None at federal level|ethnic_groups = 88.12% White 9.61% Black 1.11% Other/Multiracial 1.16% Asian|demonym = European|government_type = |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name2 = Enzo Venâncio|leader_name3 = Života Kraljevic|legislature = |established_event1 = Treaty of Federalization|established_event2 = Federation proclaimed|established_date1 = 8 September 2029|established_date2 = 9 September 2029|area_km2 = 4879806|area_rank = 8th|population_estimate = 682,000,000|population_census = 2030|GDP_nominal = 14.465 trillion ERC|GDP_nominal_rank = 1st|GDP_nominal_per_capita = 21,209 ERC|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 19th|Gini = 22.11|Gini_category = very low|Gini_rank = 1st|HDI = 0.98|HDI_category = very high|HDI_rank = 1st|currency = Euro (formerly) Earth Credit|currency_code = ERC|official_website = http://european.federation.eu/|calling_code = +3}} The European Federation (EF), commonly referred to as Europe, is a federal republic composed of 31 states, the federal district of Brussels, and several overseas territories, which were mainly inherited from France. The republic is the result of the Treaty of Federalization, signed on September 8, 2029, by the majority of then-EU members. The federation was formally proclaimed a day later, on the 9th of September. The European Federation is a highly developed country, with an advanced and diversified economy that is the largest in the world by all measures, accounting a quarter of global GDP. It performs well in several international rankings, including per capita GDP, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, andhuman development. The EF accounts for almost 45% of global military spending, making it the world's foremost military power, ahead even of the United States. European culture, reflective of its diverse society, is moderately globalized, and the country is a co-leader in scientific research and technological innovations, along with the United States and China. After the conclusion the Contact War, it became the world's leading superpower, slightly surpassing the United States, and greatly exceeding even nations like China and Russia, which, pre-war, were considered to be superpowers (or at least soon-to-be superpowers). Following the unification of the United States and Canada into the United States of North America, it and the EU became "dead even" regarding nearly all aspects. Currently, it still stands as the world's first superpower, along with the UNSA, having nearly perfect relations with the other five superpowers (Eurasian Union, Japan, China, Pacific Union, India). History Preliminary (1945-1957) After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism which had devastated the continent. The 1948 Hague Congress was a pivotal moment in European federal history, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International and of the College of Europe, where Europe's future leaders would live and study together. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, which was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe." The supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. Treaty of Rome (1957–1992) In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union. They also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958. The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and thenÉtienne Hirsch. Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. Through the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power. Nevertheless, in 1965 an agreement was reached and on 1 July 1967 the Merger Treaty created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities. Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission). In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to expand further (Berlin Wall pictured). In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland, which later left the Community in 1985, following a dispute over fishing rights), Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum. In 1979, the first direct elections to the European Parliament were held. Greece joined in 1981, Portugal and Spain following in 1986. In 1985, the Schengen Agreement paved the way for the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Community and the Single European Act was signed. In 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a reunified Germany. With further enlargement planned to include the former communist states, as well as Cyprus and Malta, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the EU were agreed upon in June 1993. Maastricht Treaty (1992–2018) The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty—whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand—came into force on 1 November 1993. The treaty also gave the name European Community to the EEC, even if it was referred as such before the treaty. In 1995, Austria, Finland, andSweden joined the EU. In 2002, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass 19 countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic , Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the Union. In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became EU members. The same year, Slovenia adopted the euro, followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009, by Estonia in 2011, by Latvia in 2014 and by Lithuania in 2015. On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU. In particular, it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with a legal personality, created a permanent President of the European Council, the first of which was Herman Van Rompuy, and strengthened the position of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.4243 In 2012, the EU received the Nobel Peace Prize for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe." In 2013, Croatia became the 28th EU member. Treaty of Berlin (2018-2029) Talks for a semi-unified European Union began prior to 2018, however the officialization of said ideas was done through the Treaty of Berlin, signed on October 22, 2018. Through this treaty, the European Union became a higher-leveled entity, close to a semi-federation. As such, in case of an attack on one of the EU members, all member nations shall unify their military strength and economies into one, and formally declare war as one entity. Treaty of Federalization (2029-present) As a response to the alien threat, all surviving European governments agreed to sign the Treaty of Federalization, which would unify all of Europe as one sovereign federation. The provisional constitution would follow the United States' example, and establish a fully presidential system, where the President of the European Federation is both the head of state and the head of government. Economy The European Federation has inherited a single market across the territory of all its members from the European Union. As of 2030, the EF has a GDP of nearly 15 trillion Earth Credits, a 31% share of global gross domestic product by purchasing power parity (PPP). Prior to 2018, 19 member states had joined a monetary union known as the eurozone, which used (and continues to use) the Euro as a single currency. The currency currently represents 628 million EU citizens. As of 2030, the euro was the largest reserve currency, on par with the United States dollar, until it was dropped, after the Earth Credit was established as the single global currency. References Category:Ascension Category:Countries